BASINGSTOKE CANAL PHOTO GUIDE

BARLEY MOW BRIDGE - BROAD OAK BRIDGE

Canoeist on canal west of Barley Mow Bridge

While one farmer makes hay another rolls them!

Hay (s) Galleria: Before Dogsmerfield we saw how the local farmer simply stacks his hay. Just a little further along the canal, no more than a mile, we find the farmer here rolls the hay up into large bundles. Although the rolling of hay is more traditional, it is often argued that stacking hay on its edge allows it to dry out quicker, preventing mold and vermin, and so this finds favour in terms of using rectangular bales because these can be stood on the narrow end (as seen in the previous section showing the haystack at Dogsmerfield.) One method is to stack hay on pallets as this creates good circulation for drying out, so in this instance round hay bales are better. The use of round bales however mean that more efficient equipment is needed to handle the larger weights of these bales. The farmers who make the best use of their hay have the least need to go and buy bales of hay to feed their livestock during the winter. It has been shown that round hay offers a greater stacking and storage volume than other bales. But ultimately it is down to personal preferences, resources and experience that we can see different methods of stacking/storing hay in adjacent or neighbouring farms.

Thatched Cottage scene near Stacey's Bridge

Stacey's Bridge

Baseleys Bridge (Stacey's in distance)

Colourful Sprats Hatch Bridge (restored 1975)

Sandy Hill Bridge (restored 1975)

Memorial seat by Sandy Hill Bridge

This memorial seat by Sandy Hill is in memoriam of Mary Kathleen Godbold.

Site of Pillars Bridge

Several feeders enter the canal around Wilkes Water, near Broad Oak

Broad Oak Bridge (rebuilt 1981)

The bridge at Broad Oak was one of the first to be rebuilt. As canal restoration progress began at the Whitewater Aqueduct and worked eastwards, bridges furthest west were thus restored, or rebuilt first and those at the eastern end last.

BASINGSTOKE CANAL PHOTO GUIDE:

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